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This report provides an overview of the medical laboratory science workforce in Victoria in 2017. It is based on survey responses from 523 individual medical laboratory scientists (approximately 50 per cent of estimated number of medical laboratory scientists in Victoria), three focus groups involving 13 participants, and surveys from 160 employers and managers of organisations that provide pathology services in Victoria.

The medical laboratory science workforce in Victoria is older and female-dominated. Respondents predominately worked in either the public sector (66 per cent) (State, Commonwealth and jointly funded) or with large multi-sited private laboratories (24 per cent); a small number worked for small specialised laboratories and not-for-profit laboratories. The majority were employed in hospital-based laboratories (81 per cent). The majority of respondents (72 per cent) worked in one of the five core areas of laboratory science: haematology, transfusion science, microbiology, anatomical pathology and clinical biochemistry, or in a multidisciplinary core laboratory. Advanced roles were carried out by 54 per cent with the most common roles being in blood banking, identifying new developments, the clinical scientist role and molecular genetics interpretation. The majority of respondents were permanent employees, worked for one employer and in a laboratory that provided 24 hour/seven day a week services. Formal multi-disciplinary team structures were common and very few respondents were sole practitioners.

Participants in this research reported a low level of job satisfaction with only slightly more than half reporting somewhat or extremely satisfied. Higher levels of dissatisfaction were reported by employees of private large multi-sited pathology laboratories than by those in the public sector. Career advancement opportunities, opportunities to do research, income and work/life balance were all factors in this dissatisfaction. Almost 2/3 of respondents (64 per cent) indicated they intended to stay in the profession for less than 10 years. These figures were also disproportionately higher for private sector employees. Key areas of concern were under staffing, lack of jobs for new graduates and low morale. These have been longstanding concerns having been identified more than 15 years ago. While there has been a steady increase in new graduates, there are few and potentially reducing numbers of jobs available to these graduates, as well as for intermediate and more senior professionals. Advancements in technology have changed the way many medical laboratory scientists roles function, but understanding from those outside of the profession of the limitations of this technology is a concerning problem for the profession.

The main issues facing the profession included a high level of dissatisfaction with income level, career development opportunities, job prospects and career pathways; the need for some form of registration, certification or accreditation to ensure appropriate levels of education and quality are maintained in the workforce, particularly with an increasingly privatised world where saving money appeared to be the main objective; and the impending 'brain drain' that is likely to occur with the retirement of many senior scientists and few people coming up through the ranks to replace them. When these issues are matched to the concerns that new graduates are having difficulty getting jobs, it provides for a somewhat dismal view of the future of the profession.

Key areas of consideration for the medical laboratory science workforce going forward include: (1) Review the impacts of privatisation on the medical laboratory science workforce with particular emphasis on the effect on quality of service, standards and available depth of skills; (2) Review the increased creation of technologist versus scientist positions, and the need to ensure there are knowledgeable, experienced scientists in the workforce for quality service provision and to support, mentor and educate new young scientists; (3) Provide more opportunities for career development and a clear career progression pathway, taking into consideration the need for secure employment; (4) Review the staffing levels in laboratories and the concerns associated with lack of jobs for new graduates; (5) Review the supply and demand for the profession in light of the technological changes that are occurring. Producing an increasing number of new graduates who are unable to find employment is problematic for the graduates and the future of the profession; (6) Encourage the development of a stronger voice for the profession to improve the professional recognition and understanding of the medical scientist role; (7) Consider of the need for some form of registration or certification to protect both the profession and the public, particularly with the diverse educational pathways to employment; and (8) Explore with the profession, additional ways to address the 'impending brain drain', concerns that the profession is 'dying', and low morale given the increasing importance that is being placed on the pathology testing within medical diagnoses.

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In 2015 the VET Development Centre (VDC) launched the Innovation in Learning Program (ILeP) - a three year Victorian [vocational education and training] VET initiative established to promote cultural change in technology integration. Its goal was to provide innovation and professional development support for practitioners using digital pedagogies. This program was informed out of applied research undertaken in 2014 where [VDC researchers] questioned what kind of professional learning specifically supported the sustained use of and the impediments to adopting digital learning technologies. A critical component of this program was a structured review and reflection process, designed for ongoing continuous improvement. The research aim in 2015 was to consider to what degree ILeP supported innovation and change for practitioners and organisations, as well as inform ways to mature the programs' roll-out in 2016.

The VDC used case studies, peer reviews, surveys, structured interviews and focus groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the first year of the program. The diversity of these different methodologies supported [their] aim to understand in what ways [their] interventions influenced the funded project outcomes and to provide [them] with valuable feedback on ways that [they] could continue to support the sector in achieving digital maturity. The participating target groups (n=130), while not statistically significant, provided [them] with a valuable opportunity to directly engage with the respondents. This methodology enabled [them] to record a rich and informative dialogue and consequently provided [them] with recommendations that can be easily transferable to the greater VET community.

This presentation will continue the conversation about ways to support technological innovation in VET. [The presenter] will share his findings from the research and offer recommendations for continued professional development in the area of cultural change and teaching innovation. [The presenter] will also offer commentary on the importance of having a clear strategy for integration, exploring the intersection at which an organisations' business and education needs crosses the pedagogic and academic requirements of teachers and students. [The] presentation will also position the VDC research outcomes juxtaposed against the current global trends in using technology for learning.

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The aim of this study was to identify if wireless keypads could facilitate interprofessional interaction among undergraduate paramedic, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, health science, social work and midwifery students. Secondary research aims included the examination of students’ perceptions of interprofessional education and how students perceived using wireless keypads in large lecture classes and smaller tutorials. The study used a mixed methodology approach via self-reporting questionnaires and focus groups that included (n = 210) students in week 1 and (n = 151) students in week 13 of an undergraduate unit. Overall, students were satisfied with the use of wireless keypads in their interprofessional undergraduate unit of study. While modest findings supported the use of wireless keypads in improving student interaction, other findings were statistically significant in understanding the roles of other health professions and why collaboration in health-care environments was important for professional growth. The following themes emerged from the qualitative data: engagement, satisfaction, use of educational technology, interprofessional education and learning environment. Integration of wireless keypads has assisted undergraduate students to better appreciate and understand other health-care disciplines within an interprofessional education setting. Students reported that they appreciated the alternative teaching and learning approach that wireless keypads offered, thus improving engagement and interactivity, and providing a broader understanding of other allied health-care professions.

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This brief article from the ‘Knowledge tree’ outlines the importance of professional development in information and communications technology (ICT) skills for teachers engaged in VET in Schools programs. It describes the innovative approaches to flexible learning professional development in VET in Schools and registered training organisations(RTOs) in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

‘Knowledge tree: an e-journal of flexible learning in VET’ is indexed at TD/TNC 76.320. Show less

The purpose of this paper is to identify how an adult and community education (ACE) organisation can provide a workplace environment that encourages the development of e-champions capable of offering leadership in flexible learning. E-champions are practitioners who hold the qualities required to implement e-learning in a training environment, at the same time supporting other practitioners to engage in e-learning through demonstration, mentoring, encouragement and guidance. Some e-champions are given this as a formal role, while others evolve through their own practice, becoming unofficial role models in their organisation and the sector. This study is built on the current body of research relating to the professional development of vocational education and training (VET) practitioners and the identified skills and knowledge of e-champions. The paper specifically focuses on the adult and community education (ACE) sector in Victoria. The research draws on individual and focus group interviews conducted in a virtual classroom. The interviews were an attempt to help to identify the barriers, enablers and drivers facilitating VET practitioners’ engagement in self-directed professional development, both within their allocated employment time and practitioners’ personal time. The paper attempts to identify how ACE organisations might provide a workplace environment that encourages the development of e-champions capable of leading in the area. The emergence of e-champions in the VET workforce has seen a new benchmark in the quality of VET training. Consequently, a great deal of research has sought to answer the question: why have these practitioners emerged and how can the system create opportunities for the further development and capacity-building of e-champions? With a unique workforce in which skills and knowledge may vary from practitioner to practitioner and from site to site, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact influences that help to develop the characteristics held by these e-champions. It may simply be there is a need for outstanding practitioners to excel in both their field of expertise and in their professional development. Both internal and external factors may be responsible for contributing to the motivation of practitioners to engage in personal professional development and growth. However, while the internal factors that contribute to a practitioner’s attitude cannot be controlled by an employer, it may be reasonable to expect that environmental factors can be.

Excerpts from publication.

This paper was funded through the Community of Practice program, part of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Building Researcher Capacity initiative. Show less

Box Hill Institute (BHI) has a long history of successful delivery of [vocational education and training] VET programs locally, nationally and internationally. In 2004 BHI had its first degree accredited by OTTE [Office of Training and Tertiary Education, Victoria] and this has been followed by a further five degrees being successfully accredited. In building its capacity to deliver degree programs the teaching staff at BHI have begun to address the need for scholarship as an integral part of their practice. Within this process BHI staff have made use of an Applied Research Community of Practice (CoP) to identify how they are learning about their learning as researchers and make use of their VET expertise to build their research capabilities. This paper identifies how an institute with minimal research capacity has been able to promote change through the use of metacognition (Flavell, 1979) and adaptive expertise (Popovic 2001) to build a research community. An integral part of the CoP is the use of a wiki to foster communication, connectedness and as a repository of information. The authors will provide opportunity for conference participants to engage in action learning by facilitating a CoP research wiki over the course of the conference with input from the BHI community of practice. The use of a wiki to promote metacognition and adaptive expertise will be explored through the use of threaded discussions and reflective questions.

Published abstract.

A list of the presentations from this conference may be found at TD/TNC 93.551; available papers are indexed from TD/TNC 93.552 to TD/TNC 93.571. Show less

This report provides an overview of the sonography workforce in Victoria in 2015-2016. It is based on survey responses from 279 individual sonographers (approximately 42 per cent of the sonography workforce identified in the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census data, or 24 per cent of the Victorian sonographers registered with the Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry (ASAR) (Australian Government, Department of Employment, Victoria - Sonographer, 2015), two focus groups involving five participants, and surveys from 36 organisations that provide services across 151 different locations or sites in Victoria. Public sector and older employees were over-represented in the survey sample.

Sonographers were generally satisfied with their jobs, particularly the opportunities for work/life balance, professional challenge and autonomy. Continuing advances in technology added interest and meant their careers were not stagnant. They also valued the independence they have in their roles and take pride in their diagnostic expertise. The sonography profession is relatively stable, with the majority intending to continue working for five or more years.

New training courses have been introduced to try to address the workforce shortages, mostly at the undergraduate level. Many sonographers believe post-graduate training programs are also required to ensure the appropriate quality of training and level of credentialing required to practise safely as a sonographer. The private sector cannot necessarily assist with the lack of capacity in the public sector because tertiary centres do not always provide similar services and the fee-for-service model in the private sector means that the cost of private sonography services can be prohibitive to clients.

The self-reported attrition rate from the sonography workforce was identified as 1 per cent in the next 12 months increasing to 24 per cent in five years. However, 12 per cent of sonographers intend to change jobs within 12 months, mostly to achieve better working conditions or pay. The sonography workforce is predominantly clinical. Respondents to this research would like to have clearer career development pathways including continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities, mentorship and opportunities to perform research. Because sonography does not often have its own separate department within hospitals and other facilities, being usually embedded within larger radiology or medical imaging departments, management opportunities were identified to be somewhat limited. Also, despite an interest by some in research, structures were not available to support this. The cost of and lack of rewards or recognition for additional training were seen as disincentives to undertaking additional study.

There were no systemic skill gaps identified within the sonography profession; however a number of respondents highlighted the importance of broad generalist skills, rather than specialist skills, particularly within the locum and regional workforce. A specific challenge identified by the sonography workforce was the technical difficulties of performing scans on the increasing number of obese clients.

Key areas of consideration for the sonography workforce going forward include: (1) Developing metrics of community need/demand for sonography services; (2) Establishing clear leadership roles and structures to promote professional career growth which would include a culture that acknowledges and rewards research to provide new avenues to expand the sonography scope of practice, as well as career paths; (3) Increasing profession representation in leadership roles to advocate for patients and the profession, particularly around funding models and approaches; (4) Service mapping to identify sonography service accessibility issues (from the patient perspective) arising from the division between public and private sector service provision; and (5) Improving clinical governance and support, particularly for private practitioners.

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The project responded to the critical need to focus on improving teaching in [Next] Generation Learning Spaces, since billions of dollars have been spent on designing or retrofitting these spaces. Next Generation Learning Spaces are specifically designed to increase active learning and to support a more student-centred approach to teaching and learning. While these spaces vary in their exact characteristics, they typically are: carefully planned to facilitate interactions between students and promote active learning; designed to allow for flexible use and arrangement of furniture; constructed without a lectern or single whiteboard/screen at the front of the space to enable teaching from anywhere in the room; and technology-enabled to encourage active, connected and collaborative learning. Despite considerable investment, there is evidence that their full potential has not yet been fully realised. Additionally, there is limited evidence that current approaches to professional development for academic staff teaching in these spaces are effective. The project has made a difference in a number of ways. It has contributed to the substantive body of literature on how to engage academic staff in professional learning to enhance their teaching. It has identified why current practice is not working and proposed a way forward. Over 200 academic staff at RMIT found the professional learning activities useful and indicated that they would trial a change to their teaching as a result. The project has supported a change in the way universities involved in the trials will provide professional learning for academic staff teaching in New Generation Learning Spaces using the innovative and an alternative approach to traditional professional development.

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This Fellowship identified international examples of successful responses to blended learning, especially to support disadvantaged and vulnerable [vocational education and training] VET learners. Research was conducted at Temasek Polytechnic Singapore, Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD) and RMIT College of Vocational Education; all three institutions are members of the UNESCO-UNEVOC network with success in applying blended learning. The report concludes that effective blended learning involves a range of strategies including specific teacher professional development, supporting student digital literacy, use of the blended learning continuum and interactive educational tools. Furthermore, the report recommends that institutions establish dedicated blended learning mentors or 'champions' for peer-to-peer training and support.

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